Burlington forms committee to combat graffiti in the city
By Alexis Crandall
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BURLINGTON, Vermont (WPTZ) — The city of Burlington is working to create a new committee to address graffiti with assistance from the community.
No matter where you are in the Queen City, it’s easy to spot graffiti.
“The goal is to get some sort of functional hub where the community can be involved in graffiti cleanup efforts and be a part of beautifying the neighborhood that they live in or just the city we call home,” said Ward 7 council member Evan Litwin.
The Graffiti Abatement Committee hasn’t formally formed yet, but there is a blooming partnership with non-profit PaintCare, which collects old paint for recycling.
They are currently creating a form for people to fill out to start covering the graffiti with free paint.
“Folk, if they are interested in helping out with graffiti abatement, through the committee, can get leftover paint,” Agnes Barsalow, the program manager for Vermont, said. “It’s paint that was brought to one of our bins and then Chittenden Solid Waste puts it aside. As folks request it, it can be used for murals or abatement across the city.”
Litwin says right now City Council wants to make sure they’re able to meet the needs of residents and adhere to their budget.
“We want to make sure, especially given the tight budgetary status of the city, that we’re not creating more work for what I would call a skeleton crew in some of these departments that have their work cut out for them, while also giving communities empowerment and agency over addressing the graffiti or the defacement in their community that they see every fay and they’re tired of looking at,” he said.
Litwin hopes someday the community can fully steer the committee.
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